Random Things That Bolivian Mennonite Men Used Cow Tranquilizers To Assault Women (12 items)

• 

  (#1) A Veterinarian In The Community Reformulated A Drug For Anesthetizing Cattle

  A veterinarian in the Mennonite community, Peter Weiber, provided the Manitoba rapists with a special spray he had formulated, using a drug meant for anesthetizing cows. He changed the formula and made it sprayable, so as to easily knock out entire families.  
• 

  (#2) Nine Men From The Community Used The Spray To Knock Out Entire Households As They Slept

  Using veterinarian Peter Weiber's spray, a handful of men began committing rapes in the middle of the night. First, they would spray the anesthetic through windows and screens, knocking out anyone inside the room. This not only incapacitating the victims, but also incapacitated any potential witnesses.

  Many of the women were assaulted with their husbands unconscious right beside them.
• 

  (#3) Community Leaders Accused The Victims Of Having 'Wild Female Imagination'

  When the nighttime attacks first began, the initial victims were cautious to speak up about what was happening. They couldn't understand what was going on, which made the experiences that much harder to explain to others. When the women did begin to speak out, they were told that they were lying, with one woman being told she was trying to cover up an affair. Some shrugged it off as a plague from God, or something they couldn't combat. Others simply called it "wild female imagination." 

  Even though women would wake up in pain or even naked, nothing was done. The victims would make their beds and go about their day as if nothing had happened. And this went on for years. 
• 

  (#4) Instead Of Blaming Men, Leaders Decided It Was The Work Of A Demon

  After the leaders of the colony overcame their initial disbelief as to whether these assaults were even taking place, there were still a few roadblocks to understanding what had really happened. The colony leaders were incredibly resistant to believe that men from the community could commit such horrible crimes, so they came up with their own explanation - that this could only be the work of a demon.

  It may sound bizarre, but the intensely spiritual community simply fell back on a religious theory to explain the horrors that were occurring. The physical evidence that remained after the attacks seemed to provide more questions than answers, with no actual witnesses (thanks to the drugs).

  It was, in theory, much easier to say it was the devil than to point a finger at someone in the tight-knit community.
• 

  (#5) The Assaults Continued For Four Years

  Old Colony Mennonites choose to live a life isolated from the rest of the world. Because of this isolation, many of the members of the community didn't know what to do about the "ghost rapes," and didn't know how to handle issues involving sexual assault - at least not in the way much of the modern world does.

  The community essentially ignored the problem, potentially making the psychological effects of the already confusing abuse much worse. With nobody acting to stop the assaults, they continued for four years.
• 

  (#6) Victims Ranged In Age From 3 To 65

  The women that were assaulted ranged in age from 3 to 65. It was reported that the 3-year-old had a broken hymen that was attributed to being penetrated by a finger. 

  Victims were both single and married. Some of them were also mentally infirm. And though it was not discussed publicly by members of the community (likely due to their conservative views), reports claim some men and boys were raped, as well.
• 

  (#7) Leaders Use The Denial Of Education To Control The Community

  How do you report a sexual assault if you don't even know the words for it? The Mennonite church severely limits what young girls learn in school, which includes vocabulary with which they could describe a potential attack. Besides a lack of sexual education (a taboo subject), girls are often not even taught the word for genitals.

  While basic education isn't denied to the children of the Manitoba colony, girls stop going to school at the age of 12. They also learn only their traditional language of Low German, while the men of the colony also learn Spanish. The idea is that they are not taught "too much," so they aren't tempted by the outside world.
• 

  (#8) Women Who Reported Their Assault Were Forced To Forgive Their Attacker

  Even with many of the rapists in prison, there seems to be little justice for those who suffered through the attacks, and continue to do so. The Mennonite church requires forgiveness, as they believe God will forgive someone for their sins. Essentially, the victims are forced to forgive their attackers. While forgiveness may seem like a positive thing in other situations, here it leads to a toxic mentality towards crime. According to Jezebel:

  If they did realize that they were assaulted, and they did report it, they are forced to forgive their attacker/rapist/molester. And once that person receives apologizes and receives her forgiveness, the perpetrator can go on with their lives, without punishment. For many women, this means that the father or brother who raped them is allowed back in their home. And will continue to rape them.
• 

  (#9) Two Men Were Finally Caught In The Act, And Revealed The Names Of The Other Seven Rapists

  One night in 2009, four years after the rapes began, two of the men were caught while attempting to break into someone's house. Once they had been apprehended, they quickly revealed the names of the other men who had been involved in the rapes. There were nine in total, including the vet who supplied the drug spray, and they were between 19 and 46 years old. 

  For his part as an accomplice to the rapes, a judge gave the vet a 12-year prison sentence. The other men each received a sentence of 25 years.
• 

  (#10) The Bolivian Government Allows The Mennonites To Essentially Govern Themselves

  The Manitoba Colony runs with almost complete autonomy from the Bolivian government. They are only responsible for contacting local law enforcement in the case of a murder. They don't actually have law enforcement within their own community; church leaders decide a person's guilt and dole out punishment.

  The rapists were originally going to be held within the community - they were to be punished by the church leaders by being kept in shipping containers. But when the Bolivian authorities found out what was happening, they stepped in and officially charged them.
• 

  (#11) The Assaults Deeply Affected The Community, Even After The Men Were Arrested

  Although the rapists were identified and received 25-year jail sentences, reporters who visited the colony in the following months and years were told by residents that the rapes had not stopped. Women still felt incredibly unsafe in their own homes, and were powerless to stop the continuing attacks.

  To this day, the only methods available to them are installing better locks and bars on their windows.
• 

  (#12) Old Colony Mennonites Are Not To Be Confused With Other Branches Of The Faith

  Although they share common roots with the other 17 branches of the Mennonite faith found in North America, Old Colony Mennonites have a few distinct differences. They separate themselves in order to truly stay away from modern life and all of its distractions. They don't listen to music, use electricity, or play sports.

  In general, they tend towards the ultraconservative side of the Mennonite faith.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking